Story in brief

"In the village of Shishima -- in the provence of Shima, which neighbors Ise of the Divine Wind -- is a farmer called Tabatake Yotaro, and from around 10 in the morning on the 10th day of the 11th month his wife Tai began to loosen her delivery cord and by around 12 she had given birth to three girls -- who were named Omatsu, Oume, and Otake. (WW)

Complete translation to follow.

Commentary

Meiji 7 (1874) was a year of the dog (戌) -- a symbol of safe birth -- hence the dog outside.

Triplet stories got a lot of play in the press. Today it takes at least four, if not five or more multiple births to attract the attention of a TV crew.

A few months before this Tonichi / TNS story came out, a Hochi / YHS story about a different set of triplets was published. See YHS-477.